Project Airstream

Last week I shared a little sneak peek of our newest project with you....and apparently it is hard to disguise a 29 foot travel trailer in photos because every single person knew what our new project was:) We did in fact get a new travel trailer, except the word new needs to be used very loosely here because our new travel trailer is actually older than both Jason and myself! We are now the proud owners of a Vintage Airstream {fyi did you know that vintage means that it is more than 25 years old}!

 After looking at a few other Airstreams and comparing prices, we decided to go on a little trip to see this beauty! When we got there, we were just a little bit excited about what we saw! Not only was this travel trailer the perfect set up for us, but it was also in REALLY great condition considering it was made in 1977! The guy we bought it from was a really cool guy who had intended to make a cabin in the woods out of this Airstream....but he just never got around to it. So our lovely travel trailer had been sitting on his property untouched for the last 5 years. The previous owners had obviously taken good care of it because when we started testing out all the systems everything seemed to work!

 The outside is in really good condition with only a few minor dents....though it is going to take quite a while to restore the shine to this beauty.

The inside is full on vintage 70's!

awesome sort of pink carpet

wood paneling everywhere

yellow and green flowery wallpaper

and some ugly curtains that seem to wrap around forever!

Luckily for us, most of the interior is easy to remedy with just a little bit of elbow grease. Actually Jason has already taken out the carpet and removed almost all of the curtains. After we finish demo-ing, we are planning on saying bye bye to all the dark wood by coating everything with a coat of light colored paint...plus a few dozen other upgrades that need to be made to make this travel trailer road worthy:

bunk beds will be built

new appliances will go in

laminate floors will recover the sub-floors

and fun new fabric will cover the fold out couch

Needless to say we are going to be busy with this project for quite a while! Our plan is to work on it for the next few months with the hopes of finishing up by next summer. Jason has always wanted to take the boys to the Grand Canyon, and camping with a bunch of boys seems almost perfect!

I will share more as we continue with this fun new project. We are complete newbies to the whole travel trailer and camping thing, so all advice and suggestions are welcomed:)

4th of July Tin Can Windsocks

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through an awesome post {at Under the Table and Dreaming} that included a ton of Flag Day/4th of July inspiration. The one project that really caught my eye was Stephanie Lynn's Tin Can Flag Windsock. It looked like such a fun project to try with the boys and I knew that I had almost everything I would need for the project already in my craft stash...lucky for me I've been hanging on to some old formula cans for more than a few years:) I headed to the store for some red and white ribbon and then gathered up all my other supplies {old formula cans, blue spray paint, some twine, and white contact paper stars cut out using my Silhouette} at home.

The first step for us was to take all the paper off the outside of the cans. I love letting the kiddos help along the way and pulling off the paper was fun for them and made them feel more involved.

Then we used some old rags and the water hose to clean out any of the old formula powder that was stuck to the inside of the can.

We gave each can a quick coat of blue spray paint and waited for them to dry.

After the paint was dry, we took our projects inside to add our stars and stripes. To keep the blue paint from getting on the table, I gave each kid a paper plate to place under their can. Then they got busy peeling the backs off their sticks and adding them to the cans however they wanted. I added my stars evenly around the can and Grant did a pretty good job of that too, but Eli's were kind of all on the same side and Henry made a three by three square of stars:)

While the boys were adding their stars, I cut the ribbon into strips about 15 inches long. I used a 30 foot roll of each color and that was just enough to cover our four cans.

Using my hot glue gun I added the strips of ribbon to the open end of the can alternating red and white. Unless you have a low temp glue gun or a kiddo who already knows how to use a glue gun, this should be a grown ups job:)

After all the ribbon was added, I used a screwdriver and a hammer to make two holes in the bottom of the can. Then I poked some twine through the holes and tied them on the inside. Stephanie used a different technique for her hanger so you might want to check out her way and decided which would work better for you.

After you  make sure you hanger is secure, they are ready to decorate your yard. This is what they look like hung on our front porch in celebration of the 4th of July....very patriotic I must say:)

Do you decorate your yard of the 4th of July?

Birthday Wish List via Pinterest

So today is my birthday. For some reason birthdays just aren't a big deal for me, or at least my birthdays aren't! I love a good kids' party, but I'm pretty sure most people would think you were crazy if you had an all out birthday party bash for a 31 year old. So instead, I'll have a quiet day at home....and maybe even get to do a little crafting:) Jason is going to make dinner tonight and {even if I have to make it myself} we will have some kind of cake, mostly because I really like cake!

So in celebration of my birthday, I'm going to share some of my birthday wish list with you:) Most of these inspiration pictures are from Pinterest...if you are on Pinterest and you want to follow my boards click HERE!

I'm guessing it's not a surprise that I have a few DIY projects on my list:

Source: hookedonhouses.net via Kelli on Pinterest

Source: thisoldhouse.com via Kelli on Pinterest

  A few things for my craft room: 

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Kelli on Pinterest

  

Source: theoldpostroadblog.blogspot.com via Kelli on Pinterest

  A new camera is on my "not this year, but a girl can still wish" list:)

Source: amazon.com via Jeff on Pinterest

 How yummy {and cute} is this cake! Perfect for any birthday!

Source: thekitchn.com via Kelli on Pinterest

I hope you had fun checking out my birthday wish list. Head over to Pinterest and check out all awesome inspiration that everyone else has been pinning!
Have a happy Tuesday:)

A Trip to the Cupcake Shop

Our New Project

A few weeks ago Jason and I started talking about making a purchase. Actually I think I might have been the one that first brought it up, but Jason was excited by the idea immediately. We might have gotten a tiny bit obsessed on our quest for the perfect item: checking Craig's List & Ebay {everyday}, watching You Tube videos, and even shopping around a little. After a few weeks of research, we stumbled upon a really great deal....and we brought it home.

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These three are SUPER excited about it!

Not only because it is really cool...

 ...but also because it means lots of time helping daddy!

 And did I mention how cool it is:)

Any guesses as to what our new project is?

I'll share a few more pictures one day next week, but right now I'm going to work on our patio redo that is taking forever to finish almost done!

Two Left Feet

This is just a friendly warning that over the next few weeks, my blog may be

*more fluff than serious projects*

*more pictures of suntanned kids than pictures of Silhouette crafts*

*more days off than a consistant 5 day a week posting schedule*

Summer is in full swing here.

We've had beach trips, pool fun, slip n slides days, grilling, and chilling....but not a whole lot of crafting going on around my house. I am still working on our patio makeover, and we also just made our very first Craig's List purchase which is going to be a major project over the next few months {I'm planning to share some pics of that project tomorrow}. So basically, while I'm enjoying the summer with the kiddos, my blog will be on a bit of a crafting break:) I still plan to share about our summer with you, I'm just going to give my crafting mojo a chance to recharge!

So for now enjoy these pictures of a cute little boy who managed to make two left feet look cute!

Wordless Wednesday: Blast Off!

 Twice!

I Spy...

something cute:)

Do you see him too?

A Litte About OCD and a Sewing Tip

Hi my name is Kelli and I have OCD:) Well it is actually self diagnosed, first born, rule follower, lover of straight lines OCD, but I'm sure a lot of you understand. And let me just say that the need for perfection and crafting don't always go very well together. I have learned that crafts {or at least my crafts} are far from perfect in most cases....and that is something that can be hard for my straight line loving self to accept.

Sewing has been a crafting Achilles heel for me, mostly because I'm not very good at it and that leads to small imperfections that drive me a little bonkers. I have issues with cutting and sewing straight lines...and lets not even talk about trying to sew in a circle:) As I was working on a project that required me to cut really long straight lines I had an idea...a genius idea that made my straight line loving OCD self very happy!

 I borrowed my hubby's chalk line popper thing that you use for making lines on wood. He assisted me in popping a few lines onto the back side of my fabric...

 ....and look what I ended up with! Perfectly straight lines! I couldn't have been happier wth how straight those lines turned out...or how easy they were to achieve! Now if I could just manage to sew these pieces together in a straight line I will be doing good:)

 And just because he is too cute, here is Eli showing off a little bit of what we have been working on in the back yard for the last few weeks. I'm hoping to finish up this weekend and maybe have a full post about our new patio to share with you next week.

Have a great day and paint something bright yellow this weekend:)

The Best Lemonade Ever!

**Eli decided to share his germs from last week with me, so I am feeling a little nauseous and vomity under the weather. That means y'all are getting a repost from last summer:) Enjoy!**

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When life gives you lemons....

...or when you buy a bag of lemons at the produce stand...

Make Lemonade
We made The Best Lemonade Ever!
Really, that is what the recipe is called, and it was SUPER good!
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups white sugar
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
Directions
1.In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.
2.Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.
I made the water/sugar mixture and chilled it in the fridge.

Then the boys helped me squeeze the lemons. We used a collander over a bowl to catch all the seeds and pulp.
We added our fresh squeezed lemon juice to the water/sugar mixure and then everyone got a turn to stir the lemonade....

...even Eli!

Pour your yummy lemonade over ice and enjoy!